Improvement in aging alcoholic liquors



N4 PETERS, PHOTO-UTHOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON, 4 C.

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HIRAM PURDY, OF BURLINGTON, IOWA.

Letters Patent No. 108,388, dated October-'18, 1870- IMPRQVEMENT IN AGING ALCOHOLIC LIQUORS.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part ofthe same To all 'whom it may concern Be it known that I, HIRAM PURDY, of Burlington, in the county -of Des Moines and State of Iowa., have invented a new and improved Method of Aging Liquors; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawing making part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a vertical section of the apparatus used in conducting the improved process of aging liquors.

Figure 2 is a top view ol" the apparatus, parts of which are broken away.

Similarlette-rs of reference indicate corresponding parts in the two Iigures.v

This invention relates to a new and improvedprocess for improving the quality of newly distilled spirits, and giving t it the same character and value as is obtained by long keeping.

The nature of my invention consists in ei'ecting both the heating of' the liquor and the oxygeuizing of the same by one agent, viz., common air or oxygen gas, byapplying the air or gas in a sufcient heatedl condition to raise the liquor to the proper' temperature while it is passing through and oxygenizing it.

The following is a-descriptiou of my improved process, and one form of apparatus which may he used in conducting this process.

In the accompanying drawing.-

A represents a wooden vessel, containing a worm pipe, 1S, through which conimon air or oxygen is forced by means of a pump.

111 passing through the worm-pipe B, the air is' heated .either by hot water in vessel A, or other,

means may be adopted for heating the air.

On leaving worm B, the air, which is heat-ed to a temperature lower than the boiling point of proof spirits, say from 909 to l2()O Fahrenheit, enters 'a coil of pipe, C, which lies on the bottom ofV a vessel, D, containing the liquor under treatment.

This coil G is thickly perforated, and discharges thev heated air in jets, which air rises through the body of the liquor to the top of the vessel D. The air thus conducted through the liquor will be more or less charged with alcoholic vapor. This is then conducted out of the top ot' vessel D into a condensing vessel, F, through the worm E, as indicated by arrows in In the vessel F, cold water, or-a cooling mixture is introduced, which will condense the alcoholic vapor,

Iam aware that the commiugling of common air' with spirits, or the exposure to air of alcoholic spirits for the purpose of aging the same is not new; but a great loss of alcohol has always been sustained in such cases by conducting the process in the open air, or by not providing t for reclaimingthe alcohol carried of in vapor.

The advantage of my process over others is, that the liquor is heated through-the mediunrof the air, (or oxygen,) introduced into it, thus preventing the heating ot any part of thc body of liquor to a higher temperature than would be sai'c, or than that which is necessary to obtain the best results, viz., from 90 t 1200 Fahrenheit.

Having described my invention, and without confiningmyself t-o the apparatus set forth,

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The process for aging or improving liquors by commingling them thoroughly with heated air, (or with oxygen gas,) iu a closed vessel, the air or gas serving to bot-l1 heat and oxygenize the liquor, substantially as described.

HIRAM PURDY.

Witnesses:

W. J. IoLLooK, Guo. C. LANMAN. 

